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"The ostentation which possession of great wealth enabled the Jews to display,

"and their unconcealed contempt for the practices of Christianity, made them an object of universal dislike.

"As usurers, moreover, they had gained a strangle-hold on the recently founded monastic houses whose splendid buildings they had financed, and on many of the smaller aristocratic families..."

The story of Simon of Trent (1475)

In J. C. Cox's Norfolk Churches, vol. II, p. 47, as also in the Victoria County History of Norfolk, 1906, vol.. II, there is an illustration of a painted rood-screen depicting the ritual murder of St. William; the screen itself is in Loddon Church, Norfolk.

Reportedly, in 1144, in Norwich, a twelve year-old boy was crucified at the time of the Jewish Passover.

Reportedly, his body was found in a sack hidden in a tree.

Reportedly, a converted Jew, called Theobald of Cambridge, confessed that the Jews took blood every year from a Christian child.

In 1244, in London, a child's body was reportedly found in the cemetery of St. Benedict, with ritual cuts.

(Social England, vol. I, p. 407, edited by H. D. Traill.)

In 1255, in Lincoln, a boy called Hugh was reportedly kidnapped by Jews and crucified. Reportedly, the boy's mother found the body in a well on the premises of a Jew. Reportedly, King Henry III ordered the investigation of the case and the Jew was executed.

Hugh was locally beatified, and his tomb can be seen in Lincoln Cathedral

(According to Haydn'sDictionary of Dates (1847 edition) "They [the Jews] crucify a child at Lincoln, for which eighteen are hanged" Hyamson's History of the Jews in England devotes Chapter IX to "Little St. Hugh of Lincoln,")

In 1257, in London, a child was reportedly sacrificed.

(Cluverius, Epitome Historiae p. 541.)

In 1276, in London, a boy was reportedly crucified.

(Authority: The Close Roll of the Realm, 4, Edward I, m.14, 3.3.1276.)

"Tzipi Livni, 47, is ... the daughter of Zionist guerrillas - terrorists in some eyes -who met in the Irgun, the underground organization that fought the British... and that blew up the British headquarters in the King David Hotel in 1946, killing 91 people.

Jewish terrorists bombed the King David Hotel, killing many British people.

"Her father, Eitan, was the Irgun's head of operations, and on his gravestone is the map of greater Israel, extending over both sides of the Jordan River...

"She served in the army, becoming a lieutenant, and at the age of 22 began working for the Mossad, the intelligence service, where she stayed for four years."

Greater Israel

According to The Times Obituary, 5 February 1992:

"Eitan Livni was born Yerucham Bzozowitch in Gerodna, Poland, in 1919.

"On the night of April 2, 1944, a few dozen Jewish insurgents sabotaged railway stations and bridges along 25 miles of line in Palestine.

"They belonged to the Irgun group, headed by Menachem Begin, which had begun a campaign of violence against the British administration in Palestine at the beginning of that year...

"Livni... in August 1947 was dispatched by Begin to organise Irgun's military activities against British targets in Europe...

"Following independence Livni became chairman of the Irgun veterans organisation but in the 1970s, as a result of pressure from Begin who was by this time the leader of the parliamentary opposition, he was elected a member of the Israeli Knesset."

Jews tried to bomb the British parliament

The Jews were prepared to use terrorism against Britain.

The Stern gang (Lehi) were Jewish terrorists. They tried to bomb the British Parliament.

In 1946 the British security services issued this warning:"Members of the Stern group are now being organised and are under training. It is expected that they will be sent to the United Kingdom to assassinate important members of his majesty’s government, particularly, Mr Bevin."

In 1946 a number of bombs exploded in London and an attempt was made to drop on a bomb on the House of Commons from a hired plane.

The House of Commons was saved when French Police discovered members of the Stern Gang preparing to fly across the channel in a plane containing a large bomb.

1. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are illegally occupied by Israel, and have been since 1967.

Israel maintains complete control of the territory by sea, air and land and there is a blockade of essential supplies, backed by the US and the European Union.

2.During the last seven years, 14 Israelis have been killed and more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed.

3.No rockets are fired from the West Bank, but 45 Palestinians have died there at Israel's hands this year alone.

4. The ceasefires was sunk by Israel's assassination of six Hamas fighters in Gaza on 5 November and its refusal to lift its siege of the embattled territory as expected under an Egyptian-brokered deal.

Why don't the US and UK politicians tell us the truth?

No doubt many of them are in bed with their Jewish mistresses or are receiving cheques or holiday trips or campaign contributions from their Jewish or Mossad friends.

The following was written on 15 July 2006:

The following LabourFriends of Israel should be kicked out of the UK parliament.

The Labour Friends of Israel has become a powerful lobbyist for Zionist and Israeli interests in the UK. This article is an introduction to the new Spinwatch Profile, telling a hidden story of power and influence.

The Organization

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a Westminister based pro-Israel lobby group working within the British Labour party.

It is considered one of the most prestigious groupings in the party and is seen as a stepping stone to ministerial ranks by Labour MPs.

LFI boasts some of the wealthiest supporters of the party, and some of its most generous donors, such as Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Michael Levy, Sir Trevor Chinn and Sir Emmanuel Kaye[1].

The committee wields considerable influence in Westminster and is also consulted routinely by the Foreign Office and Downing Street on matters relating to the Middle East...

The body also has Tory and Liberal Democrat sister organizations...

A small time player during the Thatcher years, LFI first made it into the news when one of its erstwhile guests, Mr Erwin Van Haarlem, a Czechoslovakian art dealer turned out to be a spy for the Czech intelligence services.

The 1987 gathering, to which Van Haarlem was invited because of his 'apparent support for Jewish causes', was also attended by members of the House of Lords, leading trade unionists, industrialists, and the former chief of staff of the Israeli army.[3]

Buying Influence

While Labour originally carried a reputation for having more voices sympathetic to the Palestinians – especially during the Thatcher years – the New Labour government of Tony Blair has reversed this orientation.

Although one of Tony Blair’s first acts after becoming an MP in 1983 was joining LFI, the relationship truly developed in the early 90s, when as shadow Home Secretary, Tony Blair met Michael Levy at a private meeting at the latter’s house.

Michael Abraham Levy is a former chairman of the Jewish Care Community Foundation, a member of the Jewish Agency World Board of Governors, and a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust.[4] According to Andrew Porter of The Business, Levy expressed his willingness “to raise large sums of money for the party” which led to a “tacit understanding that Labour would never again, while Blair was leader, be anti-Israel”.[5]

The partnership proceeded as Levy started inviting potential donors for tennis at his palatial home where Tony Blair would join them for a set or two. Levy would then proceed to ask the guests for donations after Blair had left.[6]The genius of Levy’s fundraising strategy ensured that most of Labour's election funds came from private sources, rather than its traditional source – the trade unions, thereby weakening their say over policy.[7]

Levy’s investment eventually paid off, with Blair’s accession to power. The reward was not long in coming as Levy was ennobled and subsequently retained as a “special envoy” to the Middle-East, leading predictably to the development of a strong pro-Israel line.[8]

Given the fact that Levy has both a business and a house in Israel and his son Daniel used to work for Yossi Beilin – the former Justice Minister of Israel – speaks of a serious conflict of interest, especially when he is the man assigned by Blair to negotiate impartially with Palestinians and Israelis.[9]

The fact that Levy acted as a fundraiser for former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak casts further doubt on his capacity for impartiality.According to Neil Sammonds of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in 2002, Four of the previous five ministers with Responsibility for the Middle East had been active members of LFI.[10]

Membership and Funding

LFI currently has a burgeoning membership in the Commons and it is seen as a certain ladder for success by aspiring politicians. Receptions hosted by the lobby usually boast a huge turnout, with such powerful guests as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, the Israeli ambassador and the Israeli Deputy Minister of Defence.[11]

LFI has found staunch allies in the current Labour government in the shape of Blair, Brown and Straw. The influence of this committee is quite evident in Blair’s frequent comments in support of Israel, particularly at a time, when its actions have been widely condemned.

Addressing a meeting of the body, Blair urged the British public not to forget the suicide attacks to which Israel has been subjected when criticizing Israeli aggression towards the Palestinians.[12] That is indeed a remarkable observation given that - as is well known - the Israeli Human Rights Centre, B’Tselem, reports that the overwhelming majority of the victims, even in the current phase of the conflict, have been Palestinian civilians.[13]

In 1997, prominent members of LFI contributed generously to the coffers of Labour, including Lord Sainsbury, who donated £1 million – the biggest single donation ever – Michael Levy, who raised 7 million pounds, Sir Trevor Chinn, who was reported to have donated a six figure sum, and Emmanuel Kaye, who donated a sizable sum to Blair’s blind trust.[14]

According to one party official, by 2001, Levy had raised up to 15 million pounds for the party.[15] David Goldman – the Chairman of an Israeli telecommunications equipment company BATM Advanced Communications – is also reported to have made several 5-figure donations.The amount of influence such money could buy in today’s politics cannot be discounted, and from Britain’s unconditional support for Israel’s brutal policies, it seems like the government is keen to deliver.

Trips to Israel LFI sponsors trips of parliamentarians to Israel, purportedly to educate them on issues central to the conflict. One recent trip included a “tour of Jerusalem and the route of the separation fence, plus meetings with Labour MKs, senior Foreign and Defence Ministry officials”.

These trips are invaluable in cultivating relationships with members of the British parliament who can then be counted on to support legislation favourable towards Israel.

These loyalties usually transcend moral barriers, as David Cairns – the organizer of one such tour – exclaimed after professing his deep commitment to Israel, "No one ever said being a friend of Israel would be easy", since his view of the “peace process” was at odds with Israel’s operative policy[16].

A Labour campaign advert in the Jewish Chronicle boasted:

Since 1997 a record 57 Labour MPs have visited Israel, mostly with Labour Friends of Israel, swelling the number of MPS willing to ensure balance on the Middle East in the House of Commons. More Labour MPs have visited Israel than from any other party.[17]

The advert also boasted that the new Terrorism Act of 2000 – for which LFI actively lobbied – “proscribes terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hizbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad”.[18] Predictably enough there was no mention of the mutli-million pound military aid to Israel’s occupying forces.

LFI has used its influence to intimidate British media into adopting an openly pro-Israel position. A recent study by the Glasgow University Media Group revealed the systematic bias in BBC and ITV’s coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict which often reproduces the official Israeli narrative uncritically, whereas very little time or detail is devoted to the Palestinian side[20].

Some, who dared to criticize the Israeli position have faced bans, as Faisal Bodi, of BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight did.

According to Bodi, LFI members play a "crucial propaganda role, carrying the flag for Israel in parliament, and lobbying editors to toe the Israeli line".[21]

Tim Llewellyn, a Veteran Middle East correspondent for the BBC, has gone to the extent of calling BBC’s reporting on the Israel-Palestine conflict downright “dishonest”.

He has attributed it to the “unremitting and productive” efforts by “Israel's many influential and well organised friends”.[22] However, this still did not preclude LFI’s Andrew Dismore from expressing “concern” about the BBC for being “anti-Israeli and biased towards the Palestinians."[23]

This charge could not have been more frivolous given that BBC has referred to Jerusalem as Israel’s ‘capital’ – a view otherwise shared outside of Israel by two out of the world’s nearly two hundred countries. [24]

A key association in LFI’s powerbase is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The strategic alliance between News Corp. and New Labour was formed just before the 1997 election when Murdoch’s The Sun and The Times switched sides to support Blair’s election bid against the Tories, who had been discredited by a series of scandals.

Murdoch has been a regular visitor to the Downing Street ever since. In a keynote address to an LFI meeting in London, the Northern Ireland Secretary and New Labour luminary Peter Mandelson praised Thatcher’s intolerance towards the siege of Murdoch’s union-busting Wapping plant by protesting printers. [25]

In the past Mandelson has appeared at pro-Israel rallies with the far-right former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Mandelson also happens to be a close friend of Elisabeth Murdoch – Rupert Murdoch’s daughter, and given Murdoch’s own investments in Israel and his close friendship with Ariel Sharon, the orientation of Murdoch’s newspapers is predictably pro-Israel.

Journalists have complained of extremely narrow editorial parameters favouring Israel, and having to adopt official Israeli formulations like “targeted killing”, “crossfire” and “closures”.[26]

Another natural ally in this enterprise was Conrad Black, whose Daily Telegraph and The Spectator magazine are two of the most influential pro-Israel voices in Britain.

He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hollinger Inc. which owns the right-wing Israeli Jerusalem Post which openly advocated the killing of Yasir Arafat in 2003.

The leading Neo-con and pro-Israel hawk Richard Perle is also a top executive at Hollinger. Black’s wife Barbara Amiel is a famous right-wing Zionist columnist. Both are known for their unbridled support for Israel. Apparently as a reward for his contributions, Black has also been ennobled by the Blair government.[27]

Obstacles to Peace

Given the hard line position of its donors, LFI has grown increasingly tendentious in its approach towards any resolution of the Middle East conflict. In 1990, two principal donors withdrew their financial backing for holding a joint meeting with the pro-Arab Labour Middle East Council.[28]

While LFI has consistently excused Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories as “self defence”, it certainly can’t feign ignorance. One of its visiting members got a first-hand glimpse of IDF tactics when he got shot at in Rafah even though he arrived in a clearly marked UN vehicle.[29]

The three British MPs, surrounded by 20 children got shot at in the presence of UN officials, which led to a demand for investigation by the MPs into the IDF’s “outrageous behaviour” bordering on “lunatic”.

One of the MPs, Crispin Blunt, concluded “If they are prepared to do this to people who come out of two clearly marked UN cars, what do they do when there is no one there?” He added “They are building up levels of hatred that will take decades, if not centuries, to erase."[30]

Such insights into have not precluded Blair from making significant contributions towards the maintenance of the illegal Israeli occupation. According to the veteran Journalist John Pilger:

Under Blair, British support for Israeli repression has accelerated. Last year alone, the government approved 91 arms export licences to Israel, in categories that included ammunition, bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles, combat vessels, military electronic and imaging equipment and armoured vehicles.[31]

While Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw – an active member of LFI – said there was "no evidence" that British arms and equipment had been used against the Palestinians, the Pilger article cited an Amnesty International report claiming abundant evidence that the Apache helicopters used to attack the Palestinians are kept flying with British components made by Smiths Industries.

Merkava tanks are serviced with parts from Airtechnology Group; BAE provides parts for Israel’s F-16 fighter jets while converted British Centurion tanks are used as armoured personnel carriers. Land Rovers are an Israeli Army mainstay and British transponders are employed to coordinate helicopter attacks.[32]

Pilger provides further insight into how the Israeli occupation is kept liquid:

The Blair government has also backed the Israeli military-industrial complex by buying bullets, bombs, grenades and anti-tank missiles. The Metropolitan Police and the South Wales police buy Israeli ammunition. An Israeli combat aircraft training system was bought by the RAF. In 1999, a joint UK-Israeli high-technology investment fund was established to pump funds into joint research and development.[33]

The war on Iraq also received enthusiastic support from senior LFI members. An LFI gathering was reassured by Blair that “a stable Iraq will be good news for Israel." Israel security needs were also cited as a rationale by the Neo-con dominated US administration in its decision to go to war. In an exclusive interview with Israel’s daily Yediot Aharonot Condoleezza Rice said “security of Israel is the key to security of the world.”[34]

The economic dividends for Israel from this venture were not discussed as openly – except in Israel’s own press.[35] This led Tam Dalyell, the longest serving member of the House of Commons, to comment on the undue influence of the 'Sharon-Likudnik' agenda pushed by advisers such as Michael Levy (and the US neocons)– on Blair’s decision to go to war.[36]

He commented on the Neo-conservative “Cabal”, particularly the “Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs combined with neo-Christian fundamentalists” urging America on towards a “Likudnik” policy of attacking Syria.[37]

Anti-Semitism

A common refrain in the rhetoric of all pro-Israel groups is the ‘combating of anti-Semitism’. More often then not, this leads to voices critical of Israeli policies being labelled anti-Semitic. While more circumspect than its American counterparts, LFI – like most pro-Israel groups – has often tried to discredit criticism of Israel by conflating it with ‘anti-Semitism’.

LFI has not shied away from describing general resentment against Israeli policies as being rooted in, or contributing towards anti-Semitism. Lord Greville Janner, former president of the Jewish Board of Deputies and an LFI vice-chair has commented on the surge of anti-Semitism among the "viciously and often notoriously anti-Israel" left liberal media.[38]

An alleged comment by the French ambassador to London, referring to Israel as that “shitty little country” immediately elicited a demand by LFI (in a letter from Chair Jim Murphy and president Gwyneth Dunwoody) for his sacking, and the charge of anti-Semitism by Barbara Amiel in the Daily Telegraph.

The Ambassador denied making the remark.[39] For good measure, Dunwoody also added “These comments are eerily familiar from the French.” Ironically enough, the alleged remark was made by the ambassador at a dinner hosted by Conrad Black.[40]

Black’s newspapers and magazines have regularly intimidated other media for their criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic. Black’s The Spectator features articles by Melanie Phillips who is notorious for her extreme views, and has gone as far to suggest that Bishop Desmond Tutu’s criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.[41]

During the elections for the seat of the Mayor of London, LFI compiled a dossier of the alleged “anti-Zionist bias” of the candidate Ken Livingstone.[42]The feud came to a head, with Livingstone’s comments to an invasive reporter, accusing him of acting like a ‘concentration camp guard’.

Whereas LFI itself was more guarded in its statements, its pro-Israel allies in the press were far less inhibited as they cited various unnamed ‘critics’ and ‘protesters’ who found the comments ‘anti-Semitic’ as the reporter in question was Jewish.[43] Livingstone’s refusal to apologize and his subsequent publication of an op-ed openly critical of Israeli policies drew further ire from the lobby and its media surrogates.[44]

This tactic has been criticized, most notably, within the Jewish community. Rabbi David Goldberg has called the claims of a resurgent anti-Semitism “paranoid and exaggerated”, he added “it is far easier and safer to be a Jew than a Muslim, a black person or an east European asylum seeker”.[45]

James Purnell of LFI believes, however, that “anti-Semitism is a virus that once again has started to infect [British] body politic” while Stephen Byers added that anti-Israeli criticism should not be used as "a cloak of respectability" for racist views. He went on to warn against dangers of the development of an "intellectual argument" bolstering anti- Semitic feeling.[46]

When the British buy American or European goods or holidays, they notice that the pound has been devalued and so most prices have gone up.

The policeman's pension or the teacher's pension will not buy as much as it once did.

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, said: "As Gordon Brown himself says, a weak currency is a reflection of a weak economy and a weak government. Labour is bankrupting Britain again and the rest of the world knows it."

The Times reported, on 14 October 2008, that gas prices in the UK had risen 49.9 % in a year.

The CIA in Indonesia. "Sayed Abdullah said that in the Malukus (MOLUCCAS), where hundreds if not thousands were killed, it was clear and obvious that western powers were behind the rioting and murder campaigns against Muslims.

"'The aim in the Malukus was to cut the Spice Islands away from Indonesia and create a non-Muslim nation right in the middle of the largest Muslim country on earth. This failed because the Mujahideen were right there to stop them.'

"He added that it was the Mujahideen who blew up a vessel carrying 350 Dutch, Australian and American mercenaries who wanted to disembark on the Malukus at the very start of the conflict between Muslims and Christians there." - CIA, Mossad Infiltrated Muslim Organizations

UK "The SNP has set itself a target of 20 seats. It’s ambitious, but it’s perfectly possible the Scottish nationalists could win 12 constituencies. Plaid Cymru will be disappointed if their current tally of three doesn’t rise to six.

"So we could have a Lib Dem bloc of 29 and an SNP-Plaid group of 18 or even 20. What happens then? What if the Conservatives do a little better, and they turn out to be the largest party?

The aim of the whole conspiracy was to get Russia and Germany at loggerheads.

When I asked Why, he said that ... Everything would be in the melting-pot, and they looked to see a new world emerge. The capitalists would rake in the shekels, and make fortunes by buying up wreckage. Capital, he said, had no conscience and no fatherland. Besides, the Jew was behind it, and the Jew hated Russia worse than hell...

The Jew is everywhere, but you have to go far down the backstairs to find him. Take any big Teutonic business concern. If you have dealings with it the first man you meet is Prince von und zu Something, an elegant young man who talks Eton-and-Harrow English. But he cuts no ice.

If your business is big, you get behind him and find a prognathous Westphalian with a retreating brow and the manners of a hog. He is the German business man that gives your English papers the shakes.

But if you're on the biggest kind of job and are bound to get to the real boss, ten to one you are brought up against a little white-faced Jew in a bath-chair with an eye like a rattle-snake. Yes, sir, he is the man who is ruling the world just now, and he has his knife in the Empire of the Tsar, because his aunt was outraged and his father flogged in some one-horse location on the Volga.'

The official story is that the plot to kill Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was intended to benefit Serbia.

But an alternative theory is that the plotters, unwittingly in most cases, were being manipulated by members of the Austro-Hungarian elite. The evidence is limited and sometimes confusing.

In 1914, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie led to the outbreak of World War One.

In 1914 there were people within the ruling elite of Austia-Hungary who -

(1) wanted an excuse for a war to crush Serbia

(2) would not have been unhappy if Franz Ferdinand and his wife were to be assassinated.

Serbia was seen as a nuisance to Austria-Hungary because certain Serbians had given encouragement to the Bosnians to break away from Austria-Hungary and join up with Serbia. The people of Serbia and Bosnia were Slavs.

Franz Ferdinand was not popular with certain members of the elite in Austria-Hungary because of his sympathy for the Slavs.

The Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph, was not keen on the idea of Franz Ferdinand marrying Sophie as she was a Slav and she was not from a royal family.

The two leading groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were the Austrians and the Hungarians; the Slavs were seen as second-class citizens.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire (in colour) included many different groups. Both Austria-Hungary and Serbia wanted to control Bosnia.

However, in 1899, the Emperor gave Franz Ferdinand permission to marry Sophie, on condition that the children of the marriage would never ascend the throne.

Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, precedence, or privileges. She would not normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage, or sit in the royal box.

The wedding took place in 1900. Emperor Franz Joseph did not attend, nor did any archduke including Franz Ferdinand's brothers.

The only members of the imperial family who were present were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Maria Theresia, and her two daughters.

Sophie was treated poorly at court.

Franz Ferdinand was not popular with the ruling elite in Austria-Hungary, because he wanted to give more power to the Slavs within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austo-Hungarian empire contained many races, including Austrians, Hungarians and Slavs.

Ferdinand was considering the idea of a federal state.

In 1914, General Oskar Potiorek invited Franz Ferdinand to come to Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia, part of the Austrian Empire, to inspect army manoeuvres.

Who gained from the assassination?

It was in Sarajevo, on 28 June 1914, that Franz Ferdinand was shot dead.

The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of 6 assassins organised by Danilo Ilic. Princip was one of those who wanted Bosnia to break away from Austria-Hungary and join up with Serbia.

The exact course of events is dificult to describe; this is partly because of the inconsistent stories of the witnesses and partly because the main inquiry was carried out by powerful Austria which may have slanted the evidence.

At 10:15 the motorcade passed the first assassin. The assassin failed to act.

The second assassin also failed to act.

The third assassin was Nedeljko Cabrinovic. As Franz Ferdinand's car approached, Cabrinovic threw his bomb. The bomb bounced off the folded back convertible cover into the street. Its timed detonator caused it to explode under the next car, putting that car out of action and wounding a total of 20 people.

The tree remaining assassins, Cvjetko Popovic, Gavrilo Princip and Trifun Grabez failed to act as the motorcade sped away to the Town Hall.

At the Town Hall, officials and members of the Archduke's party discussed security.

A suggestion that troops be brought in to line the streets was reportedly rejected because they did not have their parade uniforms with them. Security was left to the small Sarajevo police force.

Franz Ferdinand decided to go to the hospital and visit the wounded victims of Cabrinovic's bomb.

Meanwhile, Gavrilo Princip had gone to a nearby food shop, Schiller's delicatessen, after learning that the assassination had been unsuccessful. Emerging, he saw Franz Ferdinand's open car reversing after having taken a wrong turn.

The driver, Franz Urban, had not been told of the change in plan and had continued on a route that would take the Archduke and his party directly out of the city.

Princip moved forward and fired twice.

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were hit and died soon after.

Princip died in an Austrian jail of tuberculosis in April 1918, aged 23.

The assassin Mehmedbašic was arrested in Montenegro, but was allowed to "escape" to Serbia, but in 1916 Serbia imprisoned him 'on false charges'.

Princip and the other assassins were said to be members of the Black Hand organisation.

Borijove Jevtic, one of the leaders of Black hand, gave his account of the assassination.

According to this account, there were twenty-two conspirators spaced five hundred yards apart along the route the Archduke would take. After the Town Hall reception, General Potiorek persuaded the Archduke to leave the city. They took the shortest route which the road had a sharp turn in it for which the car would have to slow down. This is where Gavrilo Princip made his move.

Apis confessed to a Serbian Court in 1917 that he had ordered the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in his position as head of the Intelligence Department. (Dedijer, Vladimir. The Road to Sarajevo, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1966, p 398 )

However, when Apis made this confession, he was on trial in Serbia, accused of treason against the King of Serbia. Apis apparently believed that he would be treated more leniently if he was thought to have been the brains behind the assassination.

As it turned out, the king and his supporters decided that Apis was to be shot.

Back in 1914, the Austrian military was keen to blame the Serbian government, rather than a bunch of nationalist students who might have been acting on their own.

When the Austrian Council of Ministers met on July 7, the majority opted for war.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell which side is pulling the strings.

Prior to World War I, Alfred Redl was the Chief of Counterintelligence in the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was homosexual and was blackmailed and bribed into becoming a spy for Russia. (Nona: Alfred Redl)

Redl gave to the Russians the Austrian plan for the invasion of Serbia.

Redl was eventually caught by agents that he had himself trained.

Redl's apartment in Prague was searched. Uncovered were sexually explicit photographs of Redl and other Austrian officers.